COVID-19 Responsibility and Blame: How Group Identity and Political Ideology Inform Perceptions of Responsibility, Blame, and Racial Disparities

Publication Title

Social and Personality Psychology Compass

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2024

Abstract

This study explored how racial group, racial identity centrality, and political ideology inform perceptions of responsibility, blame, and racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. The findings revealed that highly identified members of non-dominant racial groups were less likely to endorse items indicating individual blame, while being more inclined to attribute racial disparities to structural inequalities. Furthermore, conservative ideology was consistently linked to individual blame and responsibility, with those endorsing conservative ideology agreeing less with explanations of racial disparities based on structural inequalities and agreeing more with explanations for racial disparities based on personal blame and responsibility. Understanding perceptions of blame and responsibility for COVID-19 may influence political discourse and subsequent health inequities, highlighting the importance of exploring how race, identity, and political ideology shape such perceptions.

Recommended Citation

Lyndsey Wallace, Anna Mikkelborg, Rubi Gonzales, Kyneshawau Hurd, Celina Romano, & Victoria Plaut, COVID-19 Responsibility and Blame: How Group Identity and Political Ideology Inform Perceptions of Responsibility, Blame, and Racial Disparities, 18 Soc. & Personality Psych. Compass e12927 (2024).

DOI

10.1111/spc3.12927

Volume

18

Issue

2

First Page

e12927

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